From The Irrawaddy, April 2002

Mekong Sub-Region Seminar Concludes

By Zarny Win

April 05, 2002? Journalists and activists from countries in the Mekong sub-region attended a three-day seminar this week in Chiang Rai, Thailand that focused on cross-border issues in the region. The seminar, 'Our Mekong: A Vision Amid Globalization', was sponsored by Inter Press Service (IPS) Asia-Pacific.

The participants discussed a variety of regional issues including migration, the environmental and social impact of dams and other construction projects as well as the side effects of tourism. The aim of the seminar was to provide training to local journalists, photographers and activists on key regional issues.

Johanna Son, regional director of IPS Asia?Pacific, said: "The benefits [of the seminar] will be shaped by how the journalists and photographers use this opportunity to create their own stories and reflect the concerns of the Mekong sub-region. Lots of foreign journalists probably do this, but we believe our own journalists can do it too." She added that journalists from the Mekong subregion would be better prepared to tackle local issues if they were able to place them in more of a regional context.

The Mekong sub-region is comprised of Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and China's Yunnan Province. The Rockefeller Foundation's Southeast Asia Regional Office also helped with the seminar.

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